Complex organic molecules (COMs) are thought to be the precursors of pre-biotic molecules and are observed in many protostellar sources.
complex organic molecules
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Nascent Chemical Complexity In Prestellar Core IRAS 16293E: Complex Organics And Deuterated Methanol
Prestellar cores represent early sites of low-mass (M ≤ few M⊙) star and planet formation and provide insight into initial chemical conditions of complex organic molecules (COMs).
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Evolution Of Life May Have Its Origins In Outer Space
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules – including […]
![Visual extinction maps of the observed regions. Contours in the Barnard 1b map (left) correspond to [7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70] mag levels. The contours in the IC 348 map (right) correspond to [6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24] mag levels. These maps were obtained from the τ850 optical depth maps in Zari et al. (2016) applying the K-band to V-band extinction ratio of ∼ 1/16 (Nishiyama et al. 2008). The crosses mark the pointings from where data was taken. Selected spectra of CH3OH lines at 90 GHz (Table 2) and H2S 11,0 → 10,1 line observed at different offsets are included in the maps. -- astro-ph.GA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Fine-tuning-The-Complex.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Fine-tuning The Complex Organic Molecule Formation: Sulfur And CO Ice As Regulators Of Surface Chemistry
Grain-surface chemistry plays a crucial role in the formation of molecules of astrobiological interest, including H2S and complex organic molecules (COMs).
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Formation of Complex Organic Molecules in Prestellar Cores: The Role of Non-Diffusive Grain Chemistry
We present the results of astrochemical modeling of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the ice and gas of the prestellar core L1544 with the recently updated MONACO rate equations-based model.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report
Ice Sublimation In The Dynamic HD 100453 Disk Reveals A Rich Reservoir Of Inherited Complex Organics
Protoplanetary disks around luminous young A-type stars are prime observational laboratories to determine the abundances of complex organic molecules (COMs) present during planet formation.
![Moment 0 maps of CH3CN (orange contours) overlaid on the CH3OH (51,4 − 41,3 A) emission (grey-scaled background). The moment maps are shown only around the systemic velocity ([10.8 ± 1] km s−1 ; right), where the CH3CN emission is detected. For CH3OH the 4𝜎 level is shown with the grey contours. For CH3CN, levels start at 4𝜎 with steps of 1𝜎 (1𝜎 = 2.9 mJy.beam−1km s−1 ). The green circles show the five regions of 0.5 ′′ × 0.5 ′′ defined to extract the spectra. The filled cyan square indicates the location of the starless core FIR6c-c (Kainulainen et al. 2017; Bouvier et al. 2021). The beams of CH3OH and CH3CN are depicted in the lower left corner of the left box. The dashed black circle represents the primary beam of 24.5′′ from the CH3CN observation. -- astro-ph.GA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Discovery-Of-An-Intriguing-Chemically.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Discovery Of An Intriguing Chemically Rich Outflow In The OMC-2/3 Filament
Studying chemically rich protostellar outflows and their jet provides an important insight into the low-mass star formation process and its related chemistry.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Deep Search For Complex Organic Molecules Toward The Protoplanetary Disk Of V883 Ori
Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in the form of prebiotic molecules are potentially building blocks of life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Correlation Between Formaldehyde and Methanol in Prestellar Cores
Formaldehyde is a key precursor in the formation routes of many complex organic molecules (COMs) in space. It is also an intermediate step in CO hydrogenation sequence that leads to […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
NEATH IV: An Early Onset of Complex Organic Chemistry in Molecular Clouds
Complex organic molecules (COMs) are widely detected in protostellar and protoplanetary systems, where they are thought to have been inherited in large part from earlier evolutionary phases.